Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 394, Describing Hatred and Anger.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 394.
I'm your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you.
This episode is a dialogue between Danica and Neal about anger and hatred, some common vocabulary we use when we are angry with someone.
Let's get started.
Calm down.
Stop throwing things.
Have you gone berserk?
Calm down?
Calm down?
Calm down?
You don't know what just happened.
I've never seen you lose your temper like this before.
Take a deep breath and tell me what happened.
Okay, you know that I like Samantha, right?
Well, I told Malik last week.
I just found out today that he's dating her.
Malik?
But he's your best friend.
He wouldn't do that.
Do you think I'd be having a fit if I weren't absolutely certain?
How can you be so sure?
Did he tell you?
He didn't have to.
I saw him with Samantha together after work.
He had his arm around her.
I was ready to go off the deep end when I saw the two of them together.
How do you know he wasn't sweet talking her for you?
He could have been putting in a good word for you, you know.
That's bull.
That guy is a traitor and I despise him.
And I'm such a schmuck for trusting him.
Well, I still think you may have gotten the wrong idea.
Are you going to talk to him about it?
You bet I am.
Just as soon as I stop foaming at the mouth.
Our dialogue begins with Danica saying to Neil, calm down.
This expression is used when you are asking or telling someone else to become calmer, more peaceful, to become less angry or worried.
It's usually used when someone gets angry and you are trying to get them not to be angry.
Calm down.
Stop throwing things, she says.
Have you gone berserk?
To go berserk, B-E-R-S-E-R-K, means to lose control of your emotions, to go crazy.
We may say, the little boy went berserk. because his friend took his bicycle.
He went crazy.
He started yelling and crying and getting very angry.
That's to go berserk.
Neil responds to Danica, Calm down, calm down.
You don't know what just happened.
Danica said, I've never seen you lose your temper like this before.
To lose your temper, T-E-M-P-E-R, means to lose control of your emotions.
It's similar to to go berserk, but it's a little less perhaps serious.
People who lose their temper may start shouting, may be very angry.
That's what might happen if you lose your temper.
To go berserk is a little more serious.
You may start throwing things, for example.
Danica says to Neil, take a deep breath and tell me what happened.
To take a deep breath means to fill up your lungs with air very slowly.
It is supposed to be a way to help you become more calm when you are very angry or worried.
So the person may go... That's taking a deep breath.
Breathing air in all the way and then breathing it out to calm you down.
Neil says, okay, you know that I like Samantha, right?
Well, I told Malik last week.
I just found out today that he's dating her.
So Neil likes this woman named Samantha, and he tells his friend Malik that he likes her.
Then Malik goes and gets a date with the same girl.
Not very nice.
Danica says, Malik, but he's your best friend.
He wouldn't do that.
Neil says, do you think I'd be having a fit if I weren't absolutely certain?
To have a fit is similar to to go berserk.
It means to become very upset, to be shouting, perhaps to be doing things to show that you are angry.
Absolutely here means completely, totally.
Neil is saying, I am completely certain that Malik is dating Samantha.
Absolutely has a couple of different meanings in English.
Take a look at the learning guide for some additional explanations.
Danica then asks Neil, how can you be so sure?
Did he tell you?
Neil says, he didn't have to.
It wasn't necessary for Malik to tell Neil.
He says, I saw him with Samantha together after work.
He had his arm around her.
He had his arm around her waist, for example.
This is usually a sign that the two people are romantically interested in each other, but not always.
Neil says, To go off the deep end. means, again, something similar to go berserk.
It means to lose control of your emotions, to go crazy, to get very, very angry.
For example, if you are married and you forgot your wife's birthday, she might go off the deep end.
She might get very angry.
You might be sleeping at a friend's house for a few days, for example.
Danica says, To sweet-talk someone is to say something nice to someone.
So what Danica is suggesting is that Malik was talking to Samantha, but saying good things about Neil.
He was trying to help Neil with this woman, to get a date with this woman.
To sweet-talk a woman or to sweet-talk a girl means to say nice things to them so that perhaps they will go out on a date with you.
I'm very bad at sweet-talking women.
Danica continues, someone else will have a good opinion of that person.
So if you are interested in dating this woman, that I know I may say to her well Bob here, he's a very intelligent person.
He's also very sensitive.
He has a lot of money.
See, that would be putting in a good word for you.
So if you ever need me to do that, just email me.
But remember, I'm really bad at sweet-talking women, so it probably won't help you very much.
Neil responds to Danica's possible explanation by saying, That's bull.
B-U-L-L.
Bull, in this case, means a lie, something that is not true.
It's actually short for a longer, vulgar expression.
But in informal conversation, it's possible to say it's bull.
It's a little more.
It's not something you would say to your boss, for example, at least if you wanted to keep your job.
Bull has a couple of different meanings.
Take a look at the learning guide for some additional explanations of that word.
So Neil says that's not true.
Malik is a traitor and I despise him.
A traitor is a person who betrays his or her country or someone else, a person who is not trustworthy, someone you can't trust.
A traitor would, for example, take some secrets from your government and give them to another government.
That would be a traitor.
Someone who doesn't remain loyal to you.
In this case, Malik is a traitor because he went and started dating the woman that Neil likes.
Neil says that he despises Malik.
To despise means to hate, to dislike very much.
He says, I'm such a schmuck for trusting him.
A schmuck, S-C-H-M-U-C-K, is a person who is easily fooled or easily tricked.
A person who believes things that aren't true.
Schmuck is one of the many Yiddish words in English.
It's used now by almost everyone, or most people at least, understand the meaning of the word schmuck.
Danica says, well, I think you may have gotten the wrong idea.
To get the wrong idea means to misunderstand something, to interpret something incorrectly.
Sometimes when we think we will not be understood clearly, we may say, Don't get the wrong idea.
Don't misunderstand me.
Danica asks Neil, Are you going to talk to him about it?
Neil says, you bet I am just as soon as I stop foaming at the mouth.
You bet I am is a phrase used to say yes in a very strong way about something you are going to do.
Are you going to quit your job when you win the million dollar lottery?
Someone says to you and you say, you bet I am.
To foam, F-O-A-M, at the mouth, means to be very angry.
To be so angry that you cannot control your emotions.
Similar to some of the other expressions we used earlier in the dialogue.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Calm down.
Stop throwing things.
Have you gone berserk?
Calm down.
Calm down.
You don't know what just happened.
I've never seen you lose your temper like this before.
Take a deep breath and tell me what happened.
Okay.
You know that I like Samantha, right?
Well, I told Malik last week.
I just found out today that he's dating her.
Malik?
But he's your best friend.
He wouldn't do that.
Do you think I'd be having a fit if I weren't absolutely certain?
How can you be so sure?
Did he tell you?
He didn't have to.
I saw him with Samantha together after work.
He had his arm around her.
I was ready to go off the deep end when I saw the two of them together.
How do you know he wasn't sweet-talking her for you?
He could have been putting in a good word for you, you know.
That's bull.
That guy is a traitor and I despise him.
And I'm such a schmuck for trusting him.
Well, I still think you may have gotten the wrong idea.
Are you going to talk to him about it?
You bet I am, just as soon as I stop foaming at the mouth.
The script for this episode was written by a woman who never loses her temper, Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
This podcast is copyright 2008.
